COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith
runs one of the most profitable athletic departments in the country. Somewhere at
the other end of the spectrum is Rutgers, which had the highest athletic
department subsidy of any Division 1 school last year.

But many of Rutgers' financial problems are expected to be solved by
its membership in the Big Ten.

"We have always been a conference that shares evenly, so
everything is shared across the board, split 14 ways," Smith said. "They'll
benefit when we do our next television negotiations. Whatever it comes out to
be, they'll end up getting their shares over time. It will be massive for them."

Big Ten members are projected to receive $44.5 million in
the 2017-18 academic year, which will be the first year of the new
television contract. Rutgers and fellow conference newcomer Maryland won't
receive a full share until 2020-21. But Rutgers will benefit financially from
the move to the Big Ten sooner than that, and Smith expects the Scarlet Knights
to take advantage of the increased revenues.

"From an athletic point of view, they've been up-and-down
obviously in football," Smith said. "But I think they're in a base where once
they're in the Big Ten and have the support of the Big Ten, they can get right
back on track."

Smith said he knows many people in Rutgers' administration
and he doesn't think the university gets enough credit for its academic initiatives,
including the Rutgers Future Scholars program.

"People tend not to focus on its great
academic programming," Smith said. "It's a great academic institution and very
creative in what they do. I'm really impressed with how they created the
scholarship program for underprivileged kids to have an opportunity to go to
college. That's a huge commitment by a university."

The university made significant investments in the football
program last decade under former coach Greg Schiano. With the financial support
of the Big Ten, Smith thinks Rutgers can take things to the next level.

"They made huge investments in their facilities when Schiano
was there and they had some great years," Smith said. "So they've demonstrated
the ability to be highly competitive, so how do we help them get back to that?
The East Coast, obviously from a market point of view, is huge for us. We have
to have a presence on the East Coast and Penn State needed some partners on the
East Coast. Rutgers does that."

Smith knows plenty about rivalries, as he refuses to even utter
the word "Michigan" when discussing the Buckeyes' longtime adversary. Smith expects
Rutgers and Penn State to develop a rivalry now that they're conference foes.

"There's probably a slight rivalry, but now it will go to a
whole new level," Smith said. "That's cool and that's what you want. There's
some long-term historic rivalries, like ours with that team up north, and then
there's those that emerge. I think the Rutgers-Penn State one will probably
elevate itself over time and it will be one of those contests that everybody
will look forward to all the time. I think Rutgers will bring a lot to the
table."